*** PHILIPPE MOREAU DEFARGES: Où va l'Europe ? Groupe Eyrolles (61 bd Saint-Germain, F-75240 Paris cedex 05. Internet: http://www.editions-eyrolles.com ). 2006, 191 pp, €15. ISBN 2-7081-3479-5.
Regular readers of the European Library will scarcely need any introduction to Philippe Moreau Defarges. Plenipotentiary minister, co-director of the Ramses Report for the 'Institut français des relations internationales' and lecturer at the 'Institut d'études politiques de Paris', he is a very prolific author. Passionate about European issues (his specialist area), he is at pains in his books to make Europe understandable to the general public, marrying undeniably effective pedagogical skills with strong ideas at the service of 'a certain idea about Europe'. This essay provides further proof of the pudding by pitting optimism of the will against pessimism of the intellect.
Philippe Moreau Defarges does not flee from reality. The two 'no' votes on the Constitution opened what he describes as perhaps the most serious crisis in the European project, with the 'European bicycle' truly keeling over for the first time since 1954 (when the French National Assembly rejected the European Defence Community). The most serious crisis and the deepest too because in the author's view, it combines four different fundamental problems that he describes methodically. Firstly, the 'economy running out of steam' in Europe, which has gone from the thirty boom years after the Second World War to thirty hesitant years with asphyxiated social security systems and 'competing models', with Germany, France and Italy being the sick men of Europe and the euro being unfinished business, revealing the contradictions in this Europe formed by the democratic princes who rule over us. And democracy is another pebble in the shoe of Europe because the European Union works technocratically and it goes without saying that 'people don't fall in love with machinery' (the author argues at the same time, however, that European democracy might have advanced further than might appear at first sight). Then there is the question of borders that has continued since the start of the European project but is becoming more acute as never before with the fall of the Iron Curtain and the political turmoil this brought in its wake. Hence the EU today is torn between extreme reluctance to say no to people wanting to swell the ranks of the club, and the concerns of ordinary people. Finally, Philippe Moreau Defarges observes the end of exceptionality in Europe which no longer dominates or rules the world but is rather seeking out its role, somewhere between a dwarf and an international colossus.
These four interdependent challenges will feed into a crisis likely to last for several years, the outcome of which, in the author's view, is 100% open. In conclusion, Philippe Moreau Defarges discerns four possible futures. The darkest is an outright explosion of the EU, precipitated by the coming to power in European countries of populist governments determined to smash the European project. The author feels this hypothesis cannot and should not be ruled out. He is right. One does not avert the worst case scenario by pretending to believe it is impossible, but rather by being aware of all the consequences it would bring its wake! Second scenario, slow breakdown, with the permanent crisis the EU is living through no longer helping it to be built in stages, the virtuous spiral turning into a vicious circle. In this connection, Philippe Moreau Defarges believes that failing to conclude Economic and Monetary Union carries with it a potentially fearsome chain of events. The third scenario is a makeshift solution, muddling through, and the fourth is a 'federal leap' based on a simplified, slimmed down, strengthened text, sticking to the essential bits. In the author's view, only the last scenario has any merit because the EU only has a future if it defines itself as a federation. Is this the most likely scenario? No - the author thinks it highly unlikely even, but 'history is full of surprises'…
Michel Theys
*** LAURENCE BURGORGUE-LARSEN, ANNE LEVADE, FABRICE PICOD (Eds.): Traité établissant une Constitution pour l'Europe. Partie II - La Charte des droits fondamentaux de l'Union - Commentaire article par article. Etablissements Bruylant (67 rue de la Régence, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 5129842 - Fax: 5119477 - Internet: http://www.bruylant.be ). 2005, 837 pp, €85. ISBN 2-8027-2044-9.
Fifty-one university lecturers and lawyers working for one of the European Union institutions comment in this weighty tome on articles of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights in the form in which it was incorporated into the second part of the draft European constitutional treaty. The comments shed very useful light on the meaning and scope of measures in the Charter, most of which will remain in application, no matter what fate holds in store for the constitution proper, since only the fact of being legally binding is potentially at risk at present. The bare minimum of doctrinal and jurisprudence references are included in the book, printed in the body of the text, with each commentary on an article preceded by a relevant bibliography. References to case law are listed in a single index for all the commentaries. At the end of the book there is an index of key words for accessing all the relevant commentaries. There is also a general bibliography of books, articles and contributions on the Charter and its insertion in the treaty establishing a Constitution. The other two volumes analyse in the same way the constitutional architecture established by Parts I and IV of the treaty, and the EU's policies and functioning (Rart III). This makes for an indispensable work tool. (PBo)
*** KOEN LENAERTS, PIET VAN NUFFEL, ROBERT BRAY (Eds.): Constitutional Law of the European Union. Sweet & Maxwell Limited (100 avenue Road, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 3PF, UK. Internet: http: //http://www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk ). 2005, 969 pp. ISBN 0-421-88610-2.
As is well known, the piling up over time of a series of different European treaties can make EU legislation rather difficult to read at times. The evolution of the founding texts of the European Communities into a series of rules regulating the functioning of the European Union happened in fits and starts over half a century, meaning that researchers and practitioners face often heterogeneous layering. One of the objectives of the Convention that drafted the constitutional treaty was to simplify the texts. This was also the authors' objective, trying to produce an genuinely systematic expose of the EU's constitutional law, the widest sense of the term. This is a very comprehensive book which does more than simply compile legal texts. The second edition of the Constitutional Law of the European Union in English (there were three previous editions in Dutch), also describes the how and why in detail, without superfluous considerations. The first part, for example, describes the evolution of the European project through Community and non-Community methods and how they were gradually merged. On this issue, the Towards a "constitution for Europe" chapter was written before the two no votes in the French and Dutch referendums and while it recognises the strong likelihood that the text being voted upon in a referendum in some countries might prolong the debate, it does not reflect the general pessimism that prevails at the moment. This is a mere detail, however, and the authors, Koen Lenaerts (Belgian judge at the European Court of Justice where Piet Van Nuffel works as a legal advisor), outline the situation as it was in October 2004. The second part of the book explains and analyses the EU's jurisdiction as the freedom to supply services, describing its substantive and geographical scope. The other parts of the book look at EU players (institutions, Member States, citizens, etc.), the decision-making process, the roots of law and the EU's external relations. The authors anticipate questions practitioners are likely to ask and to this end, the chapters and paragraphs are numbered as if they were codes of law, and the book has a contents table, an index and a very detailed table of cases, in order to facilitate research. This is a coherent book, explaining and linking up the different legal texts to arrive at their essence, a master work for people working in or studying the field of the European Union and its legislation. (FRo)
*** RENE SCHWOK: Théories de l'intégration européenne. Approches, concepts et débats. Editions Montchrestien-EJA (31 rue Falguière, F-75741 Paris cedex 15. Te: (33-1) 56541600 - Fax: 56541649 - e-mail: info@eja.fr - Internet: http://www.eja.fr ). "Clefs/politique" series. 2005, 154 pp, €12. ISBN 2-7076-1439-4.
Neo-functionalism, federalism, transactionism, liberal intergovernmentalism, multi-level governance, constructivism… Many concepts have been invented by political scientists to describe the European integration process, but do not tend to be understood with any accuracy. A lecturer at the European Institute and the Political Science Department of Geneva University, René Schwok has written a very useful book to help honest Europeans become familiar with concepts generally developed in universities in the English speaking world. The author analyses the concepts, along with the integrating approaches they cover in the most didactic manner possible. For each of the approaches, he starts by explaining the background to its being drawn up, before listing the main proposals and outlining the main advantages and disadvantages.
(PBo)
*** HERMANN SCHMITT, JACQUES THOMASSEN: The EU Party System after Eastern Enlargement. Institut für Höhere Studien (56 Stumpergasse, A-1060 Vienna, Austria. Tel: (43-1) 59991-237 - Fax: 59991-555 - E-mail: library@ihs.ac.at - Internet: http://www.ihs.ac.at ). "Reihe Politikwissenschaft - Political Science Series", No. 105. 2005, 25 pp, €6. Annual subscription: €40.
In a process starting in 1953 and still continuing today, a system of political parties at European level has been formed, despite problems and limits to cohesion at times. Today some six or seven political formations cover virtually all national political parties that have European representatives. But is this system-in-progress at risk, given the inclusion of political parties from new Member States in Eastern Europe in terms of the balance between left and right or in terms of loss of coherence among parties? To look at exactly what is at stake, the authors of this short study analysed the 2004 European elections voting figures, studying the differences in the way East and West Europeans voted. They conclude that the European political system has suffered very little from the inclusion of new political parties but their conclusion is rather provisory given the huge number of unaligned parties and abstentions. (NDu)
*** ANTONIA BERNARD (Ed.): La Slovénie et l'Europe. Contributions à la connaissance de la Slovénie actuelle. L'Harmattan (5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, F-75005 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40467920 - Fax: 43258203 - E-mail: diffusion.harmattan@wanadoo.fr - Internet: http: //http://www.editions-harmattan.fr ). "Aujourd'hui l'Europe" series. 2005, 171 pp, €16. ISBN 2-7475-8257-4.
This collection of essays by Slovenian researchers and figureheads who take an interest in this little, unknown nation that joined the European Union in the most recent round of accession but has only existed as a country for barely fifteen years. These comments provide keys to understanding and encouraging further reading over and above received ideas (or absent ideas). Often seen as the good pupil among new Member States, particularly because of its strong economic development, Slovenia has been forced to make a huge effort to adapt to the European Union, to tear itself away from the rest of Yugoslavia torn between different nationalisms, moving from self-management to market economy, introducing strict respect of human rights, inventing new relations with other countries while trying to safeguard its language and culture… These different aspects of this fine 'adventure' are highlighted in the book. (LD)
*** ANDRAS BANETH, GYULA CSEREY: The Ultimate EU Test Book. John Harper Publishing (27 Palace Gates Road, London N22 7BW, UK. Internet: http://www.johnharperpublishing.co.uk ). 2005 issue, 397 pp. ISBN 0-9543811-9-X.
As its name suggests, this book aims to help readers prepare for the entrance examinations for the European institutions. The authors are lawyers who have already taken (and passed) the examinations and explain how the exams are organised and what is expected of candidates. They list several websites to research for further information to prepare for the exams. The second part of the book gives a series of sample tests based on past exam questions (the answers are given in the third part of the book). A very useful and practical book - although it cannot guarantee success in the European civil service entrance examinations of course.
(NDu)
*** FRANCOIS-PIERRE NIZERY: Le minéral et la fleur. André Chamson - Mémoire, chemin, héritage. Bernard Gilson Editeur (25 av. Constant Montald, B-1200 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 7726471 - E-mail: geraldine@bernardgilson.be - Internet: http: //http://www.bernardgilson.be ). "Pays Paysages" series. 2005, 241 pp, €18. ISBN 2-87269-156-1./
A European official for more than thirty years, François-Pierre Nizery is also a writer and painter. In this fine book, he shares his very personal, intimate and passionate ideas on the work, life and heritage of the French writer (from the Cevennes region) André Chamson. Through Chamson, he takes readers through a process that put freedom of thought, resistance and the memory of human beings at the heart of modern though. (MT)
*** The EUROPEAN COMMISSION (Official Publications Office of the European Communities, L-2985 Luxembourg. Internet: http: //publications.eu.int) has published the following document:
*** Innovation européenne. Information and Communications Unit, DG Enterprise and Industry (BREY 05/216, B-1049 Brussels. Fax: (32-2) 2921788 - E-mail: entr-itt@cec.eu.int - http: //aoi.cordis .lu/). December 2005, special issue, 24 pp.
It will come as no surprise that the European Union is lagging behind in terms of innovation and R&D compared with countries like the United States and Japan and also, to an increasing extent, emerging economies like India and China. It also just as well known that the European Commission is dedicated to tackling the problem. This special issue looks at the Commission report on a new action plan based on partnership between the EU and Member States to improve legislation on new technology, help Member States mobilise their resources and facilitate investment and cooperation among companies and academia. The Commission also hopes in this way to improve R&D and innovation policies. As this publication explains, the Member States will report each year on the challenges they are facing.
*** The Federalist. Edif Onlus (5 via A. Volta, I-27100 Pavia. Internet: http://www.euraction.org ). 2005, No. 2, 64 pp. Annual subscription: €35.
Sister review of "The Federalist Debate", "The Federalist" is also based on the principles of federalism, the hypothesis that a supra-national epoch has opened in the history of humanity, and rejection of any exclusive ideas about the nation state, from the viewpoint of Kant and Hamilton. More compact and with a cover reminiscent of publications in the Enlightenment era, "The Federalist" has fewer articles per issue than its sister review. This issue, for example, looks at the rejection of "this Europe" by France and the Netherlands, peace as a precondition for democracy, the crisis at the United Nations, the risks of nuclear proliferation, and political democracy as a counterbalance to economic capitalism. It also publishes some of Altiero Spinelli's ideas.
*** Europe infos. Commission of the Bishops' Conference of the European Community - Catholic European Study and Information Centre (42 rue Stévin, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2350510 - Fax: 2303334 - E-mail: europeinfos@comece.org). December 2005, No. 77, 12 pp. Annual subscription: €27.
The editorial comments on Tony Blair's call for a common energy policy, as expressed durin ghte British Presidency, noting that this may create a new feeling of community around the European project. The central article looks at the values of the EU in an epoch of globalisation, the subject of COMECE's only written contribution to the autumn summit. Other articles look at the European Commission's work programme for 2006, the Green Paper on demographic change, and the European Parliament's resolution on patenting biotechnology inventions.
*** Paneuropa Intern. Paneuropa-Union Deutschland e.V. (17 Dachauer Straße, D-80335 Munich. Tel: (49-89) 554683 - Fax: 594768). December 2005, No. 11, 4 pp. Annual subscription: €95.
The review outlines the Bosnian tragedy, from the break-up of Yugoslavia to the Dayton Accords, via the July 1995 Srebrenica massacres. It stresses the importance of a European perspective for this part of the world where much work still needs to be done ten years on. The newsletter also looks at the controversial EU arms exports, a package of counter-terror legislation and the stormy debates about the right to life at the European Parliament's plenary in November.
*** Europa-Informationen. EKD-Büro Brüssel (166 rue Joseph II, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2301639 - Fax: 2800108 - E-mail: ekd.bruessel@ekd.be - Internet: http://www.ekd-bruessel.de ). December 2005, No. 111, 24 pp. Annual subscription: €27.
This newsletter provides information about major developments in EU legislation and political current issues like reforming the Television Without Frontiers Directive, and the Austrian Presidency, keeping a watchful eye on issues of religious or ethical interest (the publication's speciality area), like bioethics and gene therapy.